A few posts ago I mentioned that I went upcountry on Fridays to teach morning classes at the ICU (International Centre of Understanding) in Nishiki. At one stage I had three classes, all of (purportedly) different levels of English language proficiency. Fumiko was in the intermediate class, even though she was clearly good enough for the advanced group. She was a funny, helpful, chatty woman who had a spark in her eye and a real zest for living.
She occasionally ran a shop for Vietnamese clothing and wares in Sasayama in a cute gallery (see picture). She would take a flight to Hanoi, carrying suitcases full of beer(Asahi,from memory), and return with bags of crafty things. Then she would run a shop for a couple of weekends until 'stock' ran out. All for the love of it.
I remember her telling me when we first met that she had two children. One day sometime later in class she mentioned a third child, to which I said. "Fumiko, didn't you say you has two children?" "Yes, I do," she replied "the third one is my husband." The entire class (all women) broke into gails of laughter. They had all understood perfectly.
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